Editorial: Troubling allegations

According to a recent Associated Press report, three Pennsylvania State Police lieutenants were investigated by the FBI and the state police for involvement with prostitutes during personal trips to Southeast Asia - Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore. The allegations surfaced in documents in a federal discrimination lawsuit filed by former state police Cpl. Joe Farthing — who had been accused by police supervisors of padding overtime as a member of then-Gov. Ed Rendell’s security detail.

According to court records, the AP reported, the three lieutenants - Brad Lawver and John Kruse of Lewisberry, and Douglas Martin of Mechanicsburg — admitted hiring prostitutes on various trips between 2002 and 2008.

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What became of the investigations?

According to the AP, all three retired. No charges were filed.

From the AP report: “A ... review of the internal state police records shows the supervisors evaded significant punishment, and a Right-to-Know Law request found no evidence they were discharged or demoted, state police said.”

So, if these reports and court documents are accurate, high-ranking brass who oversee a department that investigates and arrests people for prostitution in Pennsylvania were traveling overseas and engaging in activities that could land a common Pennsylvania john in hot water.

Even if such activities were legal in those countries, it’s deeply disillusioning to hear such allegations about leaders in our state’s premier law enforcement agency.

Citizens would expect more from state police officers - not to mention their supervisors and top managers.

The individuals are no longer in their positions. But retirement with pension benefits intact hardly seems like an adequate result.

Former Gov. Rendell, on whose watch this alleged sex tourism took place, said he’d heard “through the grapevine, stuff about trips to Asia and sexual hijinks, but again, I didn’t know there was anything illegal about them.”

Well, you’d think a governor who used to be a prosecutor would investigate to find out what was going on and whether that “grapevine” stuff was true - especially considering that one of the lieutenants was the head of the governor’s security detail.

Sadly, this mode of dealing with officers’ alleged disappointing behavior seems all too common in a state where, speaking generally, cops can often drive drunk or commit other crimes, slip into the ARD probation program, and keep their badges so they can get paid to arrest other people for committing those very crimes. We’ve seen that time and time again — at both the state and municipal levels.

Rather than hold police officers to higher standards of conduct — as their sworn duty to uphold the law and their power to arrest other citizens suggests ought to be the case — they often slide by. They keep their jobs despite behavior that sometimes costs regular citizens their positions. And if they get into a real jam, perhaps facing court martial or other disciplinary actions, it seems that in many cases they simply retire and collect pensions.

State lawmakers should change laws and policies to assure that officers are generally held to higher standards of conduct.

Lawmakers should consider broadening the reach of the Public Employee Pension Forfeiture Act.

And at the very least, legislators should inquire into the agency’s internal handling of these cases.

Pension benefits

According to the Associated Press:

• Former state police Lt. Brad Lawver retired in January 2009, received a $106,000 payment and collects a $63,000 pension.

• Former state police Lt. Douglas Martin retired in March 2011, collected $131,000 and has a $69,000 pension.

• Former state police Lt. John Kruse retired in January 2009, collected $84,000 and gets a $45,000 pension.